Oscar, Best Dance Direction, 1936-38

The Oscar for Best Dance Direction was awarded for only 3 years. Here are the winners and nominees, with links to my notes on the films.

Oscar 1936

WINNER: Dave Gould

• Broadway Melody of 1936:  "I've Got a Feeling You're Fooling".
• Folies Bergère de Paris: "Straw Hat".

NOMINEES

• All the King's Horses: LeRoy Prinz For "Viennese Waltz".
• The Big Broadcast of 1936: LeRoy Prinz For "Elephant - It's the Animal in Me".
• Broadway Hostess: Bobby Connolly For "Playboy of Paree".
• Go Into Your Dance: Bobby Connolly For "Latin from Manhattan".
• Gold Diggers of 1935: Busby Berkeley For "Lullaby of Broadway" and "The Words Are in My Heart".
• King of Burlesque: Sammy Lee For "Lovely Lady" and "Too Good to Be True".
• She: Benjamin Zemach For "Hall of Kings".
• Top Hat: Hermes Pan For "Piccolino" and "Top Hat".

Oscar 1937

WINNER: Seymour Felix

• The Great Ziegfeld:  "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody".

NOMINEES

• Gold Diggers of 1937: Busby Berkeley For "Love and War".
• Cain and Mabel: Bobby Connolly For "1000 Love Songs".
• Born to Dance: Dave Gould For "Swingin' the Jinx".
• One in a Million: Jack Haskell For "Skating Ensemble".
• Dancing Pirate: Russell Lewis For "The Finale".
• Swing Time: Hermes Pan For "Bojangles of Harlem".

Oscar 1938

WINNER: Hermes Pan

• A Damsel in Distress:  "Fun House" 

NOMINEES

• Varsity Show: Busby Berkeley For "The Finale"
• Ready, Willing and Able: Bobby Connolly For "Too Marvelous for Words"
• A Day at the Races: Dave Gould For "All God's Children Got Rhythm".
• Ali Baba Goes to Town: Sammy Lee For "Swing Is Here to Stay".
• Thin Ice: Harry Losee For "Prince Igor Suite".
• Waikiki Wedding: LeRoy Prinz For "Luau".

Very disappointing that this award was discontinued, and no other arrived to honor choreographers in the decades of great musicals to come.